


Ten Thousand Miles Apart

by LadySerendipitous



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 03:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6140060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySerendipitous/pseuds/LadySerendipitous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chat Noir is leaving Paris and Ladybug assures him the city will be safe in his absence, but can she really do it alone, especially when strange magic takes root?  </p><p>Basically this is just an excuse to get Frozen Oceans from Shiny Toy Guns out of my head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Can't Sleep

She couldn't sleep. Marinette knew exactly why though she tried to will herself to ignore the empty feeling that had been caused earlier that night. Shifting in her bed, Marinette found herself looking through her skylight. She couldn't see the moon or even any stars, though the City of Lights always made the latter difficult. Instead the night sky was dark, with reflective light showing rolling clouds. How could a warm summer night look like a cold front was coming in? Maybe it was her mind making it seem so. Her heart felt like it had a heavy cloud around it. 

Closing her eyes, Marinette recalled the early evening. The akuma, the fight, the victory, and with her Miraculous chiming Chat Noir insisting they talk. "I really need to go," she stated the obvious to her partner, at first sure this was just another bid for her attention. She enjoyed their time together, but for now she did not think it wise for them to mingle outside of the job as it were. 

"After your kwami has recharged." There had been a solemn quality to his request, none of his usual jovial flirting. She had felt the finest hint of agitation in him as they had fought and now she saw he was holding it back. He couldn't hide it completely though, the minute way his tail flicked, how his eyes would look away, far away, for a moment before he looked at her, saw her, again. It was for those reasons she had relented. 

"Alright," she tried to keep her voice light, a kind smile that she always had ready for Chat. "At Walnut?" The nickname for a building they'd both agreed had a good view of Paris from it's rooftop, large old walnut trees prominent in the vicinity. 

"In ten minutes," he agreed.

"Make it fifteen," she countered. Tikki wasn't that fast at eating her cookies.

Chat had agreed and Marinette wasn't surprised once Tikki had had her fill of cookies and they had transformed again that her black clad partner was waiting. Waiting, and pacing. The teen superhero was now worried as she landed on the roof.

Turning to her, Chat Noir gave one of his devilish grins and if she didn't know him better she might have thought this had been nothing more then a rues to see her. She knew him better then should have been possible when she didn't even know his face. As he took her hand she shook her head. "You don't need to hide. What is it?"

The green eyes that looked at her conveyed a wealth of emotions, worry, concern, devotion, fear. He didn't speak any of those emotions right away, but instead finished the motion he started and kissed her hand. Then, and only then, did he sigh and let his shoulders sag. "I"m going to be leaving, my Lady."

"Leaving?" Marinette mentally scolded herself as her voice left her lips in high pitched surprised. Her next words were much more level. "What do you mean leaving? When? For how long?"

While Marinette might not have wanted to show the range of emotion she had, it was perhaps just what the tousle hair young man in front of her needed, for there was a hint of a relieved smile on his lips. "Soon, and probably for a month if I go."

"If...?" And Marinette read what he was offering even though he did not say the words. That if she gave any indication that she felt she couldn't have him leave, that Paris or she wouldn't be safe, he'd risk his other life, and not go. That he was loath to leave but if he did not, the life behind the mask would be the one to suffer. He'd do it, and gladly for her. Marinette squeezed his hand. "A month is a long time, but I'm pretty lucky. Just don't take your time getting back here."

He would risk everything for her, but they were partners and she would do everything to ensure he had his life outside the mask. "I'm going to do my best to get back sooner."

So many things were left unsaid. Where he was going. Why his life was forcing him away. In the end they were two awkward teenagers that had so much to say but no outlet to say it, so they stood together in silent contemplation of each other until the air around them got too intense and Marinette finally had to break the mood. "Stay safe," she told him, engulfing him in a hug. 

"Isn't that my line?" Chat chuckled with little humor as he held on to her. It was almost a crushing hug, but she let him have his moment. After all she needed it too. 

Marinette shifted in bed again. 

"Maybe you should try drinking some warm milk. Tomorrow's the last day of class before vacation starts. You'll want to be rested," Tikki's voice suggested. That was something else she didn't want to think about.


	2. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien just wishes it was a normal school day.

Friends were an important thing, and since going to school, Adrien had made several in class. Chloè was still his friend, though sometimes she made it hard to be so, but now he had Nino, and Max and Alya, and Alix and even Marinette? Adrien always found himself mentally putting a question mark in regards to the small class president. That she was small in fact was even sometimes in question. She had the type of personality that made her seem larger in memory than she physically was. 

Unless he was lucky, and Adrien knew he burned all his good luck being with Ladybug, today was going to be the last day he saw any of his friends for at least a month, maybe longer. He both couldn't wait to go to school to see all his classmates and dreaded it for he didn't want the day of his departure to come. 

In just a few days Adrien was going to be in New York. He'd been there before, but it'd been years. He was going to be doing photo shoots and stuck in a penthouse hotel room while his father did business. Even without any other reason he would have been less than eager for the trip, but now...

Now he had friends he wanted to spend time with and more importantly a special lady in red he did not wish to abandon. He had tried to think of any and every reason to not go, and even made a few tentative suggestions on how it was unnecessary for him to fly out to New York, especially for a month, but to no avail. Other then running away from home, he was stuck. 

He seriously thought about that too. It was his last ditch effort and he had started constructing plans on how he could manage, but with a look, just a look, Ladybug had squashed that plan. He'd go to New York, even though it froze him to his core. 

"Are we going?" The little black kwami asked as Adrien picked up his satchel. 

"Yeah, we're going," he said, holding the flap open for his small companion to fly on in. Soon enough they were being driven to school. The last time until after break. Adrien was going to miss the routine every week. 

Outside the hum of students chatting at one another was louder than he'd ever heard it before. Of course it was. Soon everyone would be enjoying summer vacation. 

"Hey dude," came Nino's voice as he walked into the school building. 

Adrien looked up and grinned. "Excited about the last day of school?"

"You know it! I'm going to enjoy not having any homework for a while," Nino told him as they started walking to their class together. "It's a bummer your old man is making you work during break."

"Tell me about it, but it's nothing new really," Adrien shrugged. What else could he say about the situation. 

"Maybe, but you still deserve to have some fun. At least one chill day." By this point they had made it to class and were setting down their bags.

"Hey guys," Alya's voice rang out. "I got some great pictures from yesterday's akuma battle. Ladybug kicked so much ass. You want to see?"

"Eh, maybe later," Adrien said with a shrug, which caused Alya to lift an eyebrow. Usually Adrien was always up for any pictures or videos she had of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't like being scrutinized by Alya. All sorts of crazy theories might be produced. 

"You're actually bummed about the last day of school," Alya realized in a flash, proving that while she could get crazy with her theories sometimes, she was perceptive. "I think you might be the only one."

It was then a yawning Marinette entered the room. If he had to guess he'd think his classmate hadn't slept a wink last night, though he couldn't imagine why. It was the last day of class. There were no tests to study for, or projects to finish. Adrien gave her a small wave , which was returned with less awkwardness then usual. Marinette was funny like that. For some reason the most casual interactions with her were the most awkward. Alya quickly swooped in on her best friend though and the seemingly normalness of everyone settling into class almost made Adrien forget this was the last day. 

Class was anything but normal though once their teacher took role. While their last tests were reviewed, there was light talking going on all over, which for the most part their teacher ignored. Then there was games and more free time then they'd ever been allowed through out the year. Adrien should have been enjoying all of this, but instead it put him in more and more a sullen mood. One which Nino tried to shake him out of by including him in conversations, but it only helped so much. 

"A-adrien?" Marinette's voice interrupted Adrien's lack of thoughts. He'd zoned out of the conversation at hand. He looked over at the cute black hair girl by his elbow. Cute? Yeah he could admit he thought Marinette was cute, even if she baffled him sometimes. Currently she had her hands behind her back, which Adrien was sure she was ringing out of sight. "I-I was wondering, not that we ever really do, but since you're going to be gone and I know timezones are weird, but it's not that hard to figure out and I wouldn't expect when you're busy or anything, but," Marinette was rambling, and all Adrien could do was listen and hope she didn't get herself tangled in her own line of thought. When she wasn't a mess with her words she was always worth hearing out and the more Adrien got to know her, he realized it was just as much worth listening to her when she was like this. Sometimes he didn't understand what she said. Most the time he could puzzle it out. And sometimes, sometimes she was eventually able to get to the point. "Do you mind if I message you while you're in New York?"

Adrien was actually surprised at how happy the simple request made him. The dazzling smile he gave Marinette, which he did not realize could stop her heart, came without consciousness. "I would love to hear from my friends while I'm away," he freely admitted. "It's not going to be a very fun trip, but it'd be nice to at least hear how things are going while I'm gone."

Marinette's grin was manic, Adrien realized, as she went back and forth from her toes, to her heels and back again. "Th-then I'll make sure to message every day."

"I'm counting on it." That at least made two people he knew would miss him. Nino and Marinette. No three, even if there wasn't going to be any daily messages on his phone he knew in her own way his Lady would miss him. Even if it wasn't the same way he'd miss her. 

In the end, Marinette's ernest request had made enough impact for Adrien to be able to enjoy the rest of the last day until the bell rang announcing that vacation had begun. As everyone made happy commotion, Adrien felt the melancholy return, though not as forcefully as before. He had friends, and while it felt like he was being shut off from all of them, they were real and genuine. That was more then he had before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days? Don't expect this to be a trend. Now with nice layer of wisful angst as our foundation, can I create an interesting story? Find out when chapter three is posted.


	3. Bend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where old curses and new converastions start.

Five days since Chat Noir said he would be leaving, four days since class ended, two days since Nino got them together to send Adrien off as a surprise. Marinette rolled out of her bed late, thinking about how happy she was that Adrien had such a good friend like Nino. As she sleepily made her way to the bathroom she recalled Adrien's face as he saw them all there waiting to take him to the Metro while the man that was his driver was convinced to just look the other way. She had been the only girl there, Alya couldn't get away from her house before getting committed to her sisters until late in the day and Alix had promised her dad to help move stuff at the museum for a few days for some extra spending cash and couldn't bail on the first day of work. Of course none of them mentioned the idea to Chloé or Sabrina. So in the end it had been Nino, Max, Nathanaël and herself escorting Adrien. The boys had taken his bags and Marinette had even brought fresh pastries from her parents' bakery for Adrien. 

Marinette brushed her teeth as she remembered when they finally got to the airport. How he'd given Nino a big hug in thanks, and then surprised her by giving her a hug. Looking in the mirror, she saw the blush come on from the memory and had to close her eyes to will it away. Adrien Agreste had hugged her!

Surprisingly, at the time it hadn't been nearly as weird as it was now. When he'd hugged her there had, of course, been a moment of surprise, but then it just seemed so normal that she didn't even think about it until the ride back from the airport when Alya texted her asking about it. Nino was to blame, and suddenly she went from slightly sad to see her classmate and friend go away to a mess that she had been given a hug by Adrien Agreste!

"Maybe it's just because I said goodbye to two people in less than a week," she muttered as she headed out of the bathroom. 

"What was Marinette?" Tikki asked, not being privileged to Marinette's inner monologue. 

"Oh, just, I don't know. How similar it had seemed."

The little red kwami nodded her head, understanding now where her thoughts were. "That makes sense." The statement echoed in her head throughout the day as she did not much of anything until Alya texted her saying she was free to leave. Finally, she could hang out with one of her friends. So far this vacation had been lack lustered. 

 

At the Louvre Alix was helping her brother in one of the many back areas the public never sees. There were more artifacts in storage then would ever be displayed. "Jalil, isn't this your scroll?" Alix pointed to a case where an ancient Egyptian scroll was encased. 

The elder Kubdel sibling looked over and grinned. "They moved it back here until the touring exhibit moves. And it's not mine Alix."

"Well yeah, but your translated it." Alix might not have been very interested in old relicts, but she grew up around them and understood her father and brother's enthusiasm. 

At the moment she had in her hand a box with several fragments from somewhere in China she thought, and the other a very old looking artifact from South America. It looked like a spear weapon of some sort. "You shouldn't carry all that at once," Jalil complained, carrying with him a collection of papyrus in an oversized box.

"I'm not the clumsy one in the family," Alix teased her older brother, walking to move past him. For his part Jalil did not protest. Alix was the athlete in the family. Instead he reached over to pat her on the shoulder, intending to put his box away. 

The moment they made contact the world seemed to freeze. The two boxes and the spear absorbed the light around the two of them and in disjointed voices, in different languages, none of them being French, words were spoken. "Curses meet curses and all shall feel them brought back."

If they could have, Alix and her brother would have despaired, would have run, would have done anything. Of course the three cursed items, which had laid dormant in their own lands for generations upon generations, had new life brought to them in Paris. 

 

Ladybug gracefully landed on her bed and released the transformation, so that one Marinette Dupain-Cheng could flop down. Her time with Alya hadn't been nearly long enough and by evening the stifling air made them not want to do much. It wasn't even that hot, but the air hung heavy in the city. They at least got a chance to talk about the latest article about Jagged Stone and make plans, real plans, for later in the week. 

That evening, once Marinette's parents called it a night, she had snuck out as Ladybug to tour the city. She kept expecting to find trouble, but there was no evidence of it. "Maybe I'm just on edge because I know Chat's gone," Marinette suggested to Tikki looking up at her skylight from her bed. The kwami was on her pillow near her cheek. "I just can't shake the feeling something is going to happen."

Her little red friend blinked her large blue eyes thoughtfully. "Don't worry about it too much Marinette. Even if something does happen, brooding about the unknown won't do you any good."

Tikki's advice didn't make her feel any better. She wasn't sure if the kwami was saying she was likely worrying over nothing or if her worrying meant something. Sitting up Marinette pulled at her pigtails. Her eyes wandered from Tikki to the nightstand where her phone sat and thoughts of impending doom were replaced by something a bit more tangible, but more gut twisting. 

"I said I would message every day," Marinette frowned, picking up her phone. She hadn't texted at first because she was sure Adrien had needed to settle in and get over jet lag. By now though he must have been fine. Was it too late? Marinette did the math, it was 1am, so that meant in New York it was only 7pm? Was that too early? He could be at a dinner or something. She wouldn't want to bother him if he was with important people, or his father. 

Chewing her lower lip, Marinette brought up Adrien's contact information. What would she say? Hesitantly she typed out 'hi'. She looked at the screen. She could do better than that, right? Minutes passed and she hadn't typed anything more. Her finger hovered over the screen and then with a burst of determination she pressed send, and quickly closed her eyes. 

Opening one eye she looked down at the sent message. Would he message back? Maybe he wouldn't. What if getting the message was a bother? As the seconds ticked by Marinette had herself convinced he wouldn't message. "Agh, what am I doing? It's not like even if he is going to message me back it will be right away. It's not like he's expecting me to..."

Her phone dinged notifying her of a replied message and Marinette's grip on her phone fumbled. Taking a deep breath she looked down at the message. It said 'Hi, Marinette.'

He'd messaged her back. This was wonderful! 'How's New York?'

'About how I expected it.'  
Marinette frowned. Why did she bring that up? She knew he hadn't been looking foreward to the trip. Even if Nino hadn't brought it up, just how he had behaved when the mention of his trip was brought up would have clued her in. How could she be so stupid? How could she be so uncarring? How could she be...?  
'I've taken some pictures of the city though.'

'I want to see!'

And with that Adrien shared some shots he'd taken on his phone, explaining to Marinette where they were. Their conversation went from the photos to Adrien asking how everyone was doing to Marinette inquiring if Adrien had any fun plans when he wasn't working which lead to a discussion of places they both wanted to visit. 

Marinette blinked and looked at the screen for several moments. The words were in perfectly clear French, but her mind was not making sense of it. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. 'I think I should sleep soon' she typed with a frown. She didn't want to end their discussion, but she couldn't think anymore. 

'It's almost 4 there. I'm sorry Marinette.'

Why was he sorry? 'No, I had fun talking.'

'I did too. I hope we can do it again.'

'Tomorrow. I promised every day. Remember?' Was that too foreword? Too late to take it back now. 

'Tomorrow then.'

'Night'

'Good night'

Marinette looked at Adrien's words for a long time before happily planting her face into her pillow and squealing into it. She hugged herself and far quicker than she would have thought due to her happiness she feel asleep.


	4. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dread and nightmare are proven to be real.

'So how far is Paris to New York? 10,000 mi apart?'

Adrien chuckled to himself softly as he texted back Marinette. True to her word, she had texted him the next night, though he wondered why so late. Not late for him. It wasn't even 8 in the evening in New York, but he knew it was almost 2 in the morning back home. 

'Can't be that much. It's not even 6,000 km'. He knew that without needing to look it up. The conversation had started with her simple greeting again and like the night before Adrien knew he would have to get the conversation started. He had started talking about the fashion he saw at the photo shoot, knowing that would interest the aspiring designer and she had been interested, but then went a completely different direction. It was like her texting version of her fumbling words around him at school. 

'Oh.'  
'Still an ocean apart though.' 

It looked like she was going to type something else and Adrien waited, but after a minute when she didn't Adrien decided to start another topic, like the rumors of the best pizza in New York. 

Adrien was still surprised by the fact he was having a conversation with Marinette. Not that he didn't enjoy her company, but she was a busy girl and that she was taking time to check in on him in the evenings was a delight. Him and Nino had been texting back and forth since he got off the plane, but they had been snippets of conversation. A moment of, 'hey this cool thing I thought you'd like' type things. They were not rapid reply texting that was going on, over two hours?

Adrien looked at the time on his phone. It was ten, he wasn't sure how that happened. 'Shouldn't you be asleep by now?'

'Maybe'

'Go to bed.'

'I am in bed'

Adrien looked at the message for a moment then shook his head. He knew Marinette could be sassy, but he was pretty sure this was the first time he was the target. Before he could type out a response she messaged again.

'I mean I'm going to sleep now!'

The blond was actually a little disappointed at her text version of back peddling. 'Good night then. I look foreword to talking to you tomorrow'

'I can't wait'

Adrien stretched and looked at the TV, not that he'd been really watching it since Marinette started texting. "So is this going to be a thing now?" The little black kwami asked sitting on the back of the chair. He had been watching the TV, mostly. 

"Marinette always wants to make sure everyone is alright. Once I'm back in Paris I'm sure she won't feel compelled to text me. It's still really nice of her."

Plagg floated up as Adrien stood and he had a feeling his small friend had a sarcastic comment to come, but surprised him with a very neutral question. "Calling it a night?"

"Yeah, Father wants me at a breakfast tomorrow and if I have to play nice in front of a bunch of adults that are going to talk at me I want to be well rested." There had been some brunches and dinners where an associate or two of his father's actually talked to him, wanting his genuine input, but for the most part they expected this perfect little boy. The worse ones were the old ladies that talked to him like he was ten then flirted with him. If he didn't want to be holding back biting comments it was best to get some sleep. 

It took a while to get to sleep. The bed was comfortable enough, there wasn't any weird noises, he'd been busy enough but wasn't overly tired. His mind though flittered to Paris. He didn't miss the mansion, but he missed home. The laughter of friends, the familiar language, the rooftops at night. Adrien hoped Ladybug was okay. 

His dreams took shape with his concerns. The sky was grey, and the air heavy. Everything seemed frozen in a Paris he didn't recognize. Ahead of him was a familiar form in a black spotted red figure. He reached out his hand. His bare hand. This wasn't good, he needed to help her. Had to defeat the explosion, no the darkness, no the decay. IT, they had to defeat IT. Ladybug turned to him, her hand reaching for his, her face painted with worry. A face without a mask that he knew. IT was racing to get...

Adrien sat bolt right, a name ripped out of his throat. He took several deep breaths, feeling like he'd just got out of a fight. "You okay?" Plagg's voice sounded concerned. He must have actually scared the kwami. 

"Sorry, yeah, sorry. A dream. Didn't mean to wake you." Adrien covered his face in his hands, he felt shaky. 

"More like a nightmare." The kwami was hovering in front of his face when he moved his hands away. 

Adrien nodded to his small friend and took a deep breath. Already the details of the dream were getting fuzzy, but one detail stood out. "She was in trouble. She was in trouble and I wasn't quick enough."

"It was just a dream. You're worried because you're not there. What you need is a comedy, and some cheese!" The advice sounded a bit self serving, but Adrien couldn't argue with the idea of trying to find something funny to watch before trying to go back to sleep. His heart felt frozen at the moment. 

 

"I think it's a great plan," Marinette told Alya after her best friend told her about her date idea with Nino. The other day had been another quiet one, both for Marinette's normal life and as Ladybug. She still felt uneasy but was now convinced it was simply because Chat Noir was gone and she had too much free time to think worse case scenarios. The only highlight had been when she had texted Adrien after touring the city to convince herself there were no akuma lurking around. "But if you want a second, and third opinion, you can tell Juleka and Rose when we meet up with them."

"Still no Alix?" Alya said with a frown. 

"Nope. She's still hasn't texted me back either. Maybe her phone got broke or something."

"The four of us should see if we can smoke her out of the museum."

Marinette laughed as the idea of them hunting for their short sporty friend at the Louvre like in some sort of bad action movie crossed her mind. Her laughter cut off as they turned a corner and saw nothing. 

It wasn't just nothing, it was like a white grey fog had settled on the street ahead of them. There was no sound of people or cars or anything. Marinette saw the curiosity in Alya's eyes, and before she could do anything foolish Marinette grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Tentacles of fog started to snake at their feet, but then the gentlest of breezes started to push in the direction of the eerie fog bank. 

They could start seeing figures as the fog dissipated, they were moving in a slow manner. By this point Alya had her phone out, recording. By the time they could see down the block, they knew something was horribly wrong. The people were walking, slowly, in a trance like state, and seemed to flicker in and out, like they were not really there. Sometimes they looked like they were wrapped head to toe in bandages, and other times not. "What the...?" Marinette didn't even know what to think, but she knew what needed to be done. "We should probably get out of here Alya, it's not safe!"

"I need this for my blog. This is so cool!"

Marinette should have fought her more. She really should have convinced her friend not to stay, but if she did, it would take longer to get out on the streets herself. "Alya, I'm afraid. I don't want to be here. If you're going to stay, please please be careful."

"I'm always careful, but I'm not going anywhere I've got a job to do."

Marinette fled before her instincts to pull Alya away caused her any more delay. A convenient hiding spot and a transformation later Ladybug was flying from rooftop to rooftop. From the buildings above she had a better chance of seeing any more strange cloud banks. The one she had left Alya by was no more than a memory, save for the few people that were still blinking in and out of existence slowly, like some sort of half there sleep walkers. "This is bad, really bad. But who's doing this? Why?"

Her question wasn't answered anytime soon, and that put her more and more on edge. Where was the akuma? Finally when she felt like she'd been all over the place she noticed something weird. Stopping on a roof she looked around, trying to figure out what had caused her to pause. The air was heavier then it'd been. Looking down at the street she then spotted something moving around quickly. Not a car, it was too small, too agile. It was Timebreaker! "Oh no, Alix!" As Ladybug started to swing down, she realized that was not the only enemy she had to face. There, standing with his arms stretched out was The Pharaoh.


	5. Still Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug tries to battle Timebreaker and the Pharaoh, but it doesn't work out too well.

Ladybug swung her yo-yo at Timebreaker as she came down from the building, hoping to stop the speed skater, knowing her next moves once she landed on the ground. Those plans dissolved, just like Timebreaker. The once akumatized victim's form wavered like smoke as her yo-yo fell down, not holding anything. Ladybug barely had time to notice the inky shadow from where Timebreaker stood recede away when out of the corner of her eye she noticed the Pharaoh targeting her with some sort of attack. 

Flipping herself out of the way, Ladybug recalled her yo-yo. The shimmery power was not like how the Pharaoh's powers had behaved before when he had tried to sacrifice Alya at the Louvre. The failed hit didn't stop him as he tried to catch Ladybug with the energy a second time. Not wanting to outrace it, Ladybug jumped behind a parked car. Whatever the attack was, at the moment, didn't seem to affect the object between her and the Pharaoh, but she wasn't going to stick around to see how long that would last. 

First though she had to stop the pedestrian that was going to walk right out into the middle of the battle. "Don't," she called out, grabbing at the man's arm before she saw it disappear. She was ready for her hand to pass through, not unlike her yo-yo's string. When her hand actually contacted an arm she didn't see, Ladybug made a very unheroic "eep!"

Still they were a civilian, and so she pulled the man back behind the car. When he started to become visible again, her mistake was clear. This wasn't a civilian anymore, he was being controlled by the akuma! Jumping out of his clumzy grasp she landed on top of the car, with the power attack from the Pharaoh coming at her again. Using her yo-yo, twirling it quickly in front of her to make a shield, she deflected the attack. 

Part of the shimmering energy reflected back at the Pharaoh, and like Timebreaker, he wavered like smoke and disappeared, an inky shadow retreating. Ladybug thought to try to follow the shadow, but the man she had attempted to rescue was not the only one controlled. Like the people Alya and her had nearly ran into they shimmered in and out of existence, sometimes looking mummy like, sometimes not. 

After deflecting a few of them, Ladybug came to the conclusion it was all an illusion. They were really there, they were not mummies, and while they were trying to gang up on her, there was no real attacks, just mindless attempts to grab at her. When she saw their faces they all looked like they mindless, or asleep. 

Fighting sleepwalkers wasn't going to solve anything, so Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the closest lamppost, swinging up, and then threw it at a roof ledge, and the yo-yo fell away again, the building she had been looking at shimmering like the two akumatized victims.

Now a little frightened, Ladybug looked around and realized she didn't recognize where she was. She knew where she had come from. She knew where she should be, but this place didn't look right at all. Sleepwalkers and illusions. What was she to do?

With a deep breath to steady her nerves she threw her yo-yo again and again until it actually latched onto something, and then she swung away. Up and away Ladybug swung until she was atop a large building looking down at her beloved city and her heart sank. Patchworks of eerie whitish fog covered bits and pieces of Paris. 

Ladybug started pacing. She needed to figure this out. She needed a plan. "Maybe it's..." her voice trailed off. There wasn't anyone to hear her. She looked down at her feet then shook her head, annoyed at herself. She was Ladybug, she could do this!

Yet, without her black clad joking partner it wasn't as easy. He always had her back, and his confidence in her was infectious. "I need you now," she whispered to no one. The city sounds were dimmed from the height she was at, but some of that was from the city slowly coming to a stop. She didn't know the real cause still. 

Nothing was making sense, usually when an akuma appeared they were actively trying to get their Miraculous. The sleepwalkers might have been doing that, but it didn't sit right with her. Then there was Timebreaker and the Pharaoh themselves. She knew who they were. Alix and her brother, but they hadn't really been there, had they. Were they even victims? Alya and her hadn't heard from Alix though. 

Her eyes searched the city, for a pattern, a clue. And then she saw it, or rather, she didn't see it. The Louvre, where Alix was supposively working. Where Jalil worked. Where the Pharaoh did try to bring back a dead queen to life. It was a start. 

The plan, in and of it's self, wasn't a complex plan. Go down, see what was going on, try to break whatever object with whoever that housed an akuma. Except she still hadn't found an akumatized victim. Ladybug was on the street level, having landed a stones throw from the museum. She had been dancing out of the range of sleep walkers over and over again, and finding herself more and more disoriented. She was near the Louvre, she knew that, but nothing looked right!

There was something she noticed though, the illusions dissolved easily when her yo-yo touched them. It was a small sense of relief in the sea of icy fog on this summer's day. 

While the illusions did disappear, the sleepwalkers did not. With them came a constant mummering, almost like words, but she was too distracted trying to keep the sea of people off her back. It wasn't working. She went around another corner, trying to lose the shambling perusers, to end up face to face with more people being controlled. She was so close to the entrance to the museum!

This was too much. She couldn't go backwards without fighting off people, and fighting the people ahead of her was getting exhausting and she didn't like hurting them, though she tried her best to do nothing more then push them down and use them as spring boards to get her further away. 

The sea of dreamless seekers was coming from many directions, she needed a little extra luck. Throwing her yo-yo in the air, Ladybug called out, "LUCKY CHARM!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still need to work on writing fights and battles. Hopefully I got the suspense just right.


	6. Where'd You Go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look what the Lucky Charm dragged in!

Breakfast was going about how Adrien had expected. He barely said a word, just smiled and answered any question actually directed to him in the most polite manner possible. All in all it wasn't a bad breakfast, yet Adrien felt on edge and excused himself from the room for a moment. 

'Ever be in an ordinary situation but waiting for the other shoe to drop?' The texted was sent out to Nino. 

'Wait til you're dating' was the response back. Adrien chuckled at that. He imagined Alya was as usual up to something. Knowing if he was gone from the table too long his father would notice, Adrien walked back to the dining room. 

A few hours later Adrien was walking in Central Park. His pace was quick and his posture was very unmodel like. He wore a ball cap hiding his face and if it were not for the Gorilla walking with him, Adrien was sure he would be tempted to run, or stalk. Run to, stalk what, he couldn't say. He felt like he needed to be hunting, but the ever present bodyguard kept him from following his instincts. 

He had hoped getting outside would release the tension he had, but it just made it more obvious to him. Adrien wanted to scream. He felt trapped in this city. At the end he bought a hotdog for the both of them and suggested they go back to the hotel. Maybe a catnap would help. He hadn't slept well the night before after all. 

One failed attempt at a nap later, Adrien found himself pacing. Not constantly. He'd try to sit, play a video game, read a book, watch a show, whatever. With in a few moments though he'd be up again

"Maybe you should text her?" Plagg said, Adrien's nervous energy was making it hard for the black cat kwami to enjoy his cheese, or so he had said earlier. 

"Text who?" Even as he asked, a face came to mind. Marinette. Absently Adrien looked at his phone, even as Plagg snickered from his place on the desk. It was way too early in the day to expect a text from his classmate. He wasn't sure if she was busy, but if she wasn't maybe she'd have time to tell him how things were going back home. It wasn't just that though. Marinette had a magic about her that made you feel special and wanted. He knew this before, but being so far from home. With Nino the only other person he'd talked to while overseas it became more obvious to him. Even if she was busy right now, it was still okay to text her, right? He could wait for a response. 

"Okay," Adrien chuckled, admitting Plagg might have had a good idea. Pulling up the conversation, Adrien was about to type out a message when the room started to glow. "PLAGG!“

 

The lucky charm should have dropped in her hand. Nothing today had been normal. Not the akumas or the citizen victims, not the city, and now her own magic? Fine, she'd just keep going! Her yo-yo resting in her hand once more, the glow from the Lucky Charm not having faded yet, she started spinning it again. There was nothing else to do but keep going. 

"Hope I'm not late to the party," a very familiar voice said as she felt the barest of wind as he landed behind her. Ladybug dragged her gaze from the sleepwalkers ahead of her to look over her shoulder. 

Like a lighthouse, Chat Noir's smile shone against the storm that was the rush of people. Her attention snapped ahead, one person, then another getting too close, she used the yo-yo to fling the first into the second. She didn't advance, because now that reckless maneuver wasn't her only choice. 

Maybe!

"Is that really you?" Ladybug asked, her eyes flickering back and forth from the sea of people to the edge of her vision where she saw Chat Noir move his arms back before she heard a grunt, probably as he pushed back several people with his pole. These people didn't make nearly enough sound. 

"My Lady, you wound me. Does not my allure show?" It sounded like him! Nothing was as it seemed though. Then she heard her Miraculous beep. "Sounds like we need to finish up this discussion somewhere else." 

That settled it for her. Looking past the people. Looking away from the Lourve, Ladybug looked for something that could be real. "There," she finally said pointing her finger in front of Chat Noir and slightly to the left. The fog, or whatever this was, didn't look as thick there. As though they might see real streets and buildings if they go that far.

Chat Noir grabbed her by the waist, he was solid, and extended the pole away from the flickering people, Ladybug hitting a few with her yo-yo on the head until they got far above the cluster of people. When they started leaning in the direction of a rooftop, Ladybug silently prayed it would be solid. It was, and the sun showed bright and warm. 

The second beep occurred and Ladybug looked around as Chat Noir retracted his pole and put it behind his back. "I guess I'd better figure out what's going on while you recharge your kwami," he said. 

Instead of agreeing with him, Ladybug grabbed his wrist. "Maintenance hatch on the ceiling. Shouldn't be too hard too..." she had walked a dozen steps and then let go of her partner to use both hands to force the opening.

Holding the hatch for her Chat Noir grinned. "Ladybugs first." With a roll of her eyes she jumped down, a moment later he followed. The equipment was bulky and ran with a constant hum. Fans and electronics to keep the building's temperature regulated. 

"I don't want you going too far away," she finally explained. Her Miraculous chiming again. She looked at the large fans, she could easily stay hidden there and feed Tikki. "No peeking."

 

Chat Noir gave a flourish bow and then turned his back. "Bugaboo, willing to satisfy this cat's curiosity?"

"Not about my identity!" He heard her voice barely from all the background noise.

With a sigh he shook his head, sure she couldn't see it though. "As much as that would brighten my day, that's not it. I'll wait till we can talk normal though." He felt like he was shouting though he wasn't. It was just too noisy and if anyone heard them up here it could be bad. He kept looking around. Not behind. Though it was difficult. He was on high alert and while this place only had two ways in and out, one above and one below and both in front of him, he still felt skittish and jumping. 

"Close your eyes," was her response and felt himself stiffen even as he closed his eyes. He knew his cat ears were twitching this way and that, trying to catch any and every sound. He heard her last few steps before she was right behind him, and then she pressed her back against him.

Her kwami was still eating, and promise or not, she wasn't going to risk him accidentally turning and seeing her. He knew that without her having to explain. On one hand he hated this, keeping of a secret. On the other, he was so glad she was right there with him, even at her most vulnerable. "I don't even know how I'm here!"

"Lucky charm," was the answer and if his eyes had been open, they would have gone wide with surprise. He had no idea something like that was possible, maybe it wasn't. Ladybug was lucky though. 

"And here I always thought of you as my lucky charm, not the other way around." That earned him a light punch in his shoulder before she rested her back against him again.

"Where'd you go?" Ladybug's voice sounded so lost that it made Chat Noir's heart constrict. "No, no I'm sorry." Her head was shaking back and forth and there was annoyance in her voice, almost crossing the line she had been enforcing. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to wrap her in his arms. He wanted her to know everything, but she wanted to keep them safe and this was her best way. Chat Noir hated it, but he understood her and so while he would nudge, he wouldn't fight it. 

Still he wanted to answer her question. "We were ten thousand miles apart," he said echoing Marinette's words absently. It was poetic and a little inaccurate, but it got the point across he thought. He didn't expect the stillness from his lady. His cat ears twitched as he heard Ladybug whisper something that he couldn't he sure of but also sounded like something Marinette had said. 

"An ocean apart?"

He was pretty sure that had not been for his ears though because she started talking about what had been going on in the city and Chat Noir found himself clenching his hand into fists. He should have been here. Ladybug never should have had to deal with all of this on her own, though he had to admit until she got to the Louvre she had everything under control. Still he gritted his teeth until he felt a small hand trying to force open one of his and lace into his fingers. The rigidness in his own body started to melt away. She was there for him and he would be there for her. He was there, despite his luck. "It almost doesn't sound like one of Hawk Moth's akumas."

"That's what's been confusing me. Do you think it's something else?" She sounded both surprised and hopeful. 

"I think we should not be surprised if it's not. It doesn't change how we go about this, does it."

There was silence from her. Was she thinking? Maybe her kwami was whispering to her? "Finding and stopping what's controlling the people of Paris is what we should do," she finally agreed. 

"Then when my Lady is ready, shall we head to the Louvre?"

"Yes. Glad to have you with me partner."

"Believe me, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He gave her hand a squeeze before she let go. It was time for Ladybug to save the city once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, there's no polish on this chapter. They're a team though, and I hope I got their dynamic well.


	7. Impossible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir return to the Lourve.

The two masked heroes were on the rooftop once more, looking in the direction of the dense fog. It seemed to be in almost every direction by now. Some pockets worse than others, but evident that all of Paris was in some manner now being affected by the magic at hand. 

Ladybug had her yo-yo in hand about to throw it when Chat Noir stuck his nose in the air and sniffed. "Do you smell that?"

Pausing she tried sniffing the air it seemed a bit like a mildewy basement, but that was likely the humidity in the air. "What is it?"

As if to answer the question, they both heard a loud groaning sound from a few blocks away. Looking they saw the facing on a tall building slide off. "Rust, decay.... They aren't mushrooming around." His eyes were still a bit wide at the sight of the building just casually breaking apart. The duo had seen their fair share of buildings being collateral damage due to an akuma attack, but this was much more passive. 

"We'd better be careful," Ladybug noted and twirled her yo-yo to catch onto an adjacent building and holding out her arm to her partner. Chat Noir nodded going up to her, holding his baton in one hand and the opposite arm around her shoulder as she had them both flying over the street below. 

Between illusions and decay they were hard pressed to keep their footing on the rooftops of Paris, Chat Noir more than a few times having to use his baton to either deflect debris or redirect their flying falls as Ladybug had to get ahold of a new building to anchor their way back to the Lourve. It was nerve wracking, but better than trying to get there on foot. 

As they got closer to the museum and the illusions more distracting they gave up their skyline express to pad it on foot. They only encountered a few sleepwalkers in the main street once they got out of a true alleyway. 

"It's too easy this time," Ladybug commented to her partner as they reached the doors and entered the building. 

Chat Noir ears were flicking about almost as much as his tail. Only the emergency lights were on, and while more than enough for his lady to see still, he took point, wanting to be sure they had as much advance warning of anyone coming at them as they could. 

They both were spinning their weapons cautiously as they advanced, Ladybug only a step behind Chat Noir. Her eyes glancing this way and that. Even if her partners senses were better than hers, he could still miss something. 

The first attack from the sleep walkers couldn't be counted as a surprise, they just came out of one of the crossing hallways. Chat Noir hadn't even needed to warn Ladybug of their approach and a few moments later they were jogging away from the immobilized victims. 

"They Art even trying," he joked as they got further into the museum. A groan was his reward. The temptation to continue on was strong. "I think we Baroque their spir.. Wait." Holding his arm to stop his lady, the black suited hero noted a stronger smell of decay, but before he could identify the exact nature the floor collapsed under them. Ladybug was able to jump backwards in time to not fall down all the way into the basement.

"Chat Noir?" She called out once she was sure the flooring she was standing on wasn't likely to give out.

"I'm alright my lady. After all cat's always land on their fe-ooph."

With the sound of her partner in trouble, Ladybug jumped down into the hole, her yo-yo ready. It was a mistake. If the lighting in the main part of the museum was muted, it was non-existent in this part of the basement. 

"Watch it," a familiar voice said close to her before grabbing the wrist opposite her weapon. She kept the yo-yo going, as a shield against things she couldn't see, while relying on Chat Noir as he pulled, paused and changed directions, at one point going around to her other side and her moving hands she was wielding the yo-yo. 

"Something weird is up ahead," he told her once they cleared a few random sleep walkers in their path yet again. 

"Weird? In what way?"

"It smells all rusty and even with my night vision things seem darker."

"Oh great," she didn't like the sound of that but they kept going, even kicking a double doors together to enter a new room. There was light, which was a relief to Ladybug, even if it gave a washed out red tinge to everything.

Ahead of them there was crackling white dome, and two people lying on the ground under it. Alix and her brother, it was almost certainly them. All this was noted before an overwhelming sense of dread seemed to soak into Ladybug's bones. In no language she understood, yet she still knew the meaning, she heard the pronouncement of curses, curses mingling, to become new, to spread across the land. Tentacles of power snaked across the floor unnoticed.

Feeling herself shiver, she instinctively clutched the arm that held her wrist, even as the hand that held her tightened. Glancing at Chat Noir she knew he was being affected the same way she was. 

The knowledge should have frighted her more, but instead one look at his eyes and her resolve returned. They parted an instant later, dodging the power that wanted to entrap them and going for the dome in opposite directions. 

"CATACLYSM!" Vaulting off the floor, Chat Noir landed atop the dome, his hand extended. Disrupting the energy flows, the dome collapsing with a ghostly, silent howl that was felt more than heard. Landing by the two Kubdel siblings, he looked around, seeing they were not out of the woods yet. Inky black, chilling white, and iron red was swirling around. With the two not twitching, Chat Noir tried to put one under each arm to get them out of the way of the angry energy that was now emerging since he broke things. 

The waves of confusion, of fear, of loathing washed over like waves, but Ladybug kept steady. With the dome collapsed she looked for the source of all the ill will. It wasn't on either Alix or Jalil. There was three likely sources, and Ladybug was starting to think it might be all three.

She didn't expect it to be easy, she swung her yo-yo at the whitish object. She expect resistance. She didn't expect to break it on the first try. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, she brought her yo-yo back to her as the energy dispensed from the object opening her yo-yo to capture and possibly cleanse it. 

This wasn't a butterfly to be caught, but when she released it, the white energy seemed to glow and shimmer before melting away. She couldn't help but grin, at least until Chat Noir tackled her and they went rolling on the ground. She heard him bump hard into something as they stopped and he groaned slightly. "Are you okay"

In return Chat Noir gave a wide grin. "Feline fine."

He was okay. Getting up she offered her hand to her black cat and saw the melting ooze of where she had been. "Got their attention I guess. One down, two to go!"

They went forward, Chat Noir's baton giving them cover from a angry red attack, before Ladybug leapt over him to smack the object it was coming from. As she concentrated to capturing it, Chat kept the black energy at bay, having to fling the attack away, files and artifacts blowing up or melting. 

By the time Ladybug had purified the second object, Chat Noir had advanced on the last object, even if destruction was all around him. With a yell, he smashed his baton into the middle of the oozing darkness, another silent scream occurring.

Chat Noir was visibly shaking from this, but Ladybug didn't have time to take his reaction into account. She captured the last cursed energy into her yo-yo and then released the purified remains. It was like a miniature night sky before fading into nothingness. 

Ladybug looked at the spot where the curse, cleansed, had been before finally disappearing for a several moments before finally looking over at Chat Noir. He of course had been looking at her the whole time, but when she turned to regard him, he stood straighter and smiled once more.

"We did it?"

"We did it!"

They walked over to each other, fists out, and said in unison, "Pound it!" 

The fist pump was like many, many, before. There was something that was missing, and before Ladybug could think it through, she clasped her partner's hand, swinging it down, and then swinging it up. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG."

The magical ladybugs came, as she knew they would, but their first act wasn't what she wanted.

"NO!"

Chat Noir was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proof reading? What's that?


	8. I Can't Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The epic conclusion! Fluff is your reward.

With a dramatic exhale of breath, Marinette flopped onto her bed, Tikki gracefully landing on the pillow beside her. Her brain was still going a million miles per hour, even though she was emotionally exhausted. Physically, well she probably should be tired by that point, but she felt very disconnected at the moment. So much had happened. 

Alya had finally stopped texting. She was either asleep or editing the Ladyblog. Either was likely. Marinette was so grateful her friend hadn't been hurt by what had happened. In fact everything had been righted by her ladybugs. She had confessed to Tikki she had been worried about that, but that was hours later. 

After Chat Noir disappeared, an event in and of itself that made her still cold to the core, Alix and her brother had come to. Their description of the events that had occurred before they blacked out caused more questions than answers. Jalil was able to give one, tentative idea, as to what had connected the three artifacts, now completely destroyed. In their own lands, at one time, they had been considered cursed. 

Not that he gave this information right away. No first he bemoaned the loss of the pieces, which Alix reminded him almost no one had seen in years, and no they would not get in trouble for their destruction. It wasn't their fault after all. Still though he gathered up what information that the museum did have, and only then was the one possible connection found. 

Once Ladybug finally left the museum, Marinette had missed several texts from Alya. She had to pacify her friend as the budding journalist rapid fired the events that unfolded. Marinette played dumb of course, but her breath caught when Alya mentioned a fan had sent her blog a video clip of Ladybug and Chat Noir dodging falling buildings. 

She had slowly sat on her computer chair, wondering why the news made her so emotional. Finally it hit her, part of her had been scared he hadn't been there, that it hadn't been real. Alya never knew the emotional roller coaster that was happening on the other end as she kept her best friend abreast of new information, including the promise from Alix who 'apparently was at the center of it all, can you believe that?' would see if her father could send Alya any security footage from the Lourve. Alya was so excited about the idea of getting the tapes instead of a large news agency. 

As the texts started slowing in pace, meaning, Alya was hard at work on her blog, Marinette had finally been able to talk to Tikki about everything that happened. The kwami did not have all the answers, but she had seen a lot in her many years and had a few educated guesses. No, Marinette had not failed Alix and Jalil in cleansing them of the akumas that had attached to them months before. The curses just took advantage of the city's memory. Marinette admitted to not understanding that. She just wanted to know how it happened and how to keep something like that from happening again. 

Preventing it, Tikki said, was nearly impossible. There was sadly always darkness in the world. As for what had happened, Tikki suggested it was bad luck. The artifacts were cursed, but their powers were either minimal or dormant, but when brought together they awoke and fed off each other, and unfortunately the Kubdel siblings. 

Bad luck? Even now in bed, Marinette wondered. One black cat left the city, and it seemed that's when the unusual bad luck showed up. Then she remembered, he came back. She brought him back, though she didn't know that would happen when she threw her yo-yo in the air to call for her Lucky Charm. She didn't ask Tikki about that. She wanted to, but she was also embarrassed to ask. Why? She couldn't say, but she was. 

She should sleep. After such a trying day that was the smartest thing to do. Looking at her phone, still in her hand, Marinette looked at the time. It was almost one in the morning. Feeling her lips turn up, Marinette realized there was one last thing she needed to do. After all, she had promised. 

'Evening' 

'Hey! Are your OK?'

Marinette blinked at the question. It seemed out of place. 'Yes?'

'I heard there was an akuma attack '

Oh! He heard, and he was concerned. Marinette's whole being lit up in joy over this.  
'Yeah. It was weird '

Weird because it wasn't one of Hawk Moth's akumas, but she couldn't tell him that. Marinette then tried to deflect the conversation away from the battle by asking Adrien about his day. He told her about a boring brunch he had to attend then changed the topic himself. Not that she could blame him. Adrien hadn't wanted to go to New York, and tonight's conversation made it more obvious than it had been. 

She wished she could talking to him. Texting was nice, but she felt like she'd be able to gauge the nuances of how he was better if she could hear his voice. Maybe find a better way to be supportive. Not that it would work like that. She'd stumble on her words, start rambling, completely annoy Adrien and then he'd never want to be around her and...

And she really had to stop doing that. They were having a good conversation. At some point he was in the middle of typing, but never sent. She waited, and waited. Someone must have dragged him off for something. Marinette sighed, waiting, her eyes getting heavier and heavier. She was almost asleep. 

'I'M COMING HOME!!!'

Marinette fingers would not cooperate and it took her what felt like forever to get a grip on her phone and type the simple message. Marinette felt absolutely giddy. She could barely think.  
'WHAT? REALLY?'

'Yup! I can't wait!'  
He then sent a happy dancing emoji. Marinette then sent another one to him. They went back and forth with about a dozen different funny faces. 

Marinette was over the moon. She had butterflies in her stomach. She... Butterflies? That thought sobered her up a bit. Not enough to keep her from being ecstatic but just enough to keep from completely spazzing out.  
'So when?'

'Nathalie is making the arrangements right now. I'll let you know when I know more'  
'I should start packing '

Marinette was giggling happily. Adrien had no idea how happy she was. Yes, a lot of it was because she wanted to see him. Maybe, just maybe they might get a chance to hang out, and how wonderful would that be. But the calmer side of Marinette, the part that made her heart just feel overflowed with care, was happy because Adrien was going to be happy. His happiness was something that just caused her such intense emotions, she could barely describe it. 'I should sleep but text when you know more.'

'Promise. Sleep well '

'Have fun packing '  
Marinette hugged the phone tight. As she settled back down into her pillow, flicking over the conversation she had with Adrien she bit her lip. How exhausted was she that she used ladybug emojis? Adrien was a fan so it was okay. As she closed her eyes she wondered then why Adrien had used all those cat ones. 

'Call me as soon as you're awake!'  
That was the message left on her phone by Alya. Marinette yawned, stretched and rolled out of bed. Today was going to be a good day. The best! In a good mood she dialed up her best friend. 

"Girl, I have good news!" Alya wasn't one to beat around the bush. 

"Alix's father sent you the tapes?"

"Yes! No, but yes, but that's not the point! Adrien Agreste is coming home early!"

Marinette smiled to herself, by now looking at the flight itinerary Adrien had foreward to her. "I know."

"You already know? That Nino, I'm going to..."

"Nino didn't tell me. Adrien did."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. "You TALKED to Adrien?"

"Uh, well, not talked, just, you know, texted, like I told you I wanted to do."

"So he just texted you this morning?" Marinette could hear the wheels turning in Alya's head. 

"No, nonono, we were chatting when he found out!"

"So you, were texting Adrien, last night, LATE last night, when he found out?"

"Yes?"

"Progress!"

Marinette deflated into her lounge. It wasn't like that! But she couldn't think of a way to tell Alya that. Sure, Marinette wanted that sort of connection but it just wasn't there. Not yet. "If you say so," what happened to her happy mood?

"Don't do that girl. I know what you're doing and just don't! If Adrien didn't want to talk to you, you'd know. And if you don't believe me I'll get Nino in on this conversation."

"Bully! But it's not that. I just. Will I have an excuse to talk to him once he's back?"

"Yes, you, will! But leave that to me. Now what are you doing today?" 

"Well," Marinette let go of her doubt. She was happy after all, Adrien was coming home, and no matter how weird or awkward she could be, he always seemed willing to get to know her better. Wasn't that important? For now she needed to live in the moment. 

 

Adrien could seek the Eiffel Tower. There were many things that represented home, but from high above in a jet, this was the thing that stood out. He leaned into the window and squinted, trying to see if there was a spot of red, his Lady, standing there. Even if she was, Adrien realized, he wouldn't be able to see her. His eyesight wasn't that good. Not at the moment at least. 

A lot had happened since he was last in France, not that there was anyone but Plagg he could talk to about it. He had gone from a victory fistpump with his lady to suddenly being back in his hotel room. He had an idea what happened, everything had been returned to their original state. That was a good thing, but he didn't even get a chance to say anything to Ladybug. Worse, could he be sure everything had been righted?

He had watched the news, refreshed the Ladyblog constantly and eventually started to believe everything was alright. Texting Nino made it seem a little more real. He wanted to know if Alix was alright too and Nino foreward texts from Alya since it wasn't nice to overwhelm someone who had been in the middle of an akuma attack, even if this hadn't strictly been caused by akumas. 

Knowing everything was back to normal he tried to relax, but he still felt coldness in his chest. He was still stuck in New York for several more weeks. 

Then like a breath of fresh air, there was a message from Marinette. He didn't even care what they were talking about it was a good distraction from his guilt and anxiety. He was engrossed enough in the conversation that when his father entered the room, he had a moment of annoyance of being interrupted. He masked it well and then didn't even have to try. 

There was some sort of situation back home, his father was vague about what, which was fine by Adrien. His father gave him the choice of staying in New York to finish the modeling work or coming home as well. Adrien didn't even have to think about the choice. 

Despite the late hour, Paris shone, like a gem. Still the brightest jewels there he couldn't see yet, his friends. Once the plane touched down, Adrien reached for his phone and as it taxied to the terminal he sent off a quick text to Nino. 'I'm home '

A few moments later as the fasten seatbelt sign disappeared and Adrien stood. Trans Atlantic flights were exhausting and boring. 'Welcome home dude!'

Adrien grinned as he grabbed his carry on. One of the many perks of First Class was once the jet's door was open they'd be the first to get out. Then of course was customs. Adrien barely got a chance to silently grumble when his phone started to explode. 

Everyone it seemed was sending him messages. Adrien tried to read them while also walking behind the Gorilla as they walked into the airport. This was Nino's doing, he was sure of it. He tried to respond to all his friends' texts. Most welcoming him home, some offering to make plans later, Juleka sending a hilarious YouTube video on guyliner. 

The late night hour made it impossible for his friends to come out and meet him, so they did the next best thing. He didn't know what he deserved to have such a great group of classmates, but he did make sure to thank the orchestrator of this. 

'Dude, no sweat. It wasn't any big deal. Can't take all the credit though. Marinette wanted to do something for you. I just made sure it happened'

Marinette? Adrien toggled over to the other conversation. He'd gotten her to talk about her latest design project and she'd finally gave in and sent him a shot from her sketch book. She was incredible. 

Somehow he made it through customs and luggage reclaim and eventually got home. The conversations from his friends died down before then. It was late and he didn't blame any of them. Adrien was exhausted himself. He couldn't sleep easily on planes and with the time zone differences his internal clock was a mess again. He wasn't sure when he'd sleep, but he told Nino he'd call once he was alive again and maybe they could hang out tomorrow, or was it today?

There was only one person still texting him. 'Don't you sleep?'

'I do. I'm just a night owl I guess '

Adrien chuckled to himself thinking of all the times Marinette had come into class late.  
'I am too, when I'm allowed. Maybe we can chat a little earlier from now on. '

Adrien had no idea that he made his friend combust with the idea they were going to continue their nightly texting. In fact he didn't think too much of it. In his mind it was a new routine, and one he much enjoyed. 

 

Ladybug looked out at the skyline of the city she loved. The day had been absolutely wonderful. She had slept in and felt refreshed. The text conversation from the night before had been perfect. Adrien and her were friends, real and truly now it seemed. 

After lunch she got a message to meet Alya at the park, where she was told that Nino and Adrien were meeting them. 

'I can't wait!' Had been Marinette's response and she also put on her spots to rush out there. 

Marinette had of course been awkward once she saw Adrien. She just couldn't help it, but then he gave her a hug and her knees turned to rubber and brain so much mush she was stunned silent as Adrien begged forgiveness from all of them for not bringing back souvenirs. 

The sincerity of his apology kicked Marinette's brain back into gear. "None of us care about that Adrien. We're all just happy you're home. That's the best gift!"

Honestly if she had tried to plan her words, it would have never come out of her mouth. It had come from the heart however and from the way he looked at her, they were the right words indeed. 

Later there was ice cream and talking and even if it wasn't a lot of time, Adrien was still getting over jet lag and Alya had babysitting, it was finally the start of the summer break they'd all been wanting. There would be more afternoons like these. 

Ladybug turned her head, thinking something was moving on the rooftops. Against the backdrop of artificial lights was a black clad figure, with a halo of gold. Eyes going wide, she brought he hands to her now open mouth as he came to the roof across from her. 

Chat Noir flourished a bow to Ladybug before vaulting over so that he landed next to her. Without thinking, Ladybug wrapped her arms around her partner giving him a tight hug, then quickly moved back to look at him. "What are you doing here?"

The cat themed hero was grinning ear to ear. "Why, to see you my lady," he then reached for her hand to kiss it. 

Ladybug wasn't having any of that right now and quickly took her hand out of his, crossing her arms. "You know what I mean. You're not going to get yourself in trouble are you?"

The grin was only slightly subdued by her frown. He made a great sweeping gesture. "I was given the opportunity to return and like a bad penny here I am!"

Ladybug tilted her head and unfolded her arms resting her hands on her hips. "Really?"

"Prrrromise," he made an action of crossing his heart. "I was asked if I wished to come back early and I said 'I can't wait'"

Ladybug blinked at her partner, then shook her head. "Well I'm glad you're back."

"As am I. I'm afraid in my haste to return to your side I did not bring back a souvenir."

"I don't care about that. I'm just glad you're home. That's the best gift."

Chat Noir gave her a perplexed expression that Ladybug couldn't figure out why. Then his smile returned. "I should go away more often if this is the reaction to my return."

"You'd better not."

"You're right. Now, tell me my lady, how have you managed without me?"

In an attempt to get back to normalcy they both ignored the hints right in front of them. In time all the little bits would be put together, but not right then during a summer night in Paris. Instead they would discuss what had happened at the Louvre and what their next steps were, because there was still Hawk Moth out there, and he needed to be stopped soon. 

Still later that night two teenage friends would text each other way too late in the night, but they could both sleep in at least that time. 

And when they dreamed it would be without anxiety but peaceful dreams. For a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it. The end tied up all the loose ends. I hope everyone enjoys this. Will there be a sequel? At this time, no. I have another multi-chapter fic in the works however.

**Author's Note:**

> I shouldn't post stuff without proof reading twent times. Of well.


End file.
